Leading Scientists and Clinicians at McGill University Health Centre Win A-List Impact Award for MOXXI Research Project
A Montreal team’s unique approach to patient and heath care management received international attention today. This team, led by scientists and clinicians at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), was the only Canadian winner of the QUALCOMM 3G CDMA-List Award for use of innovative wireless technology. The team won the A-List Impact Awa
Imperial College London researchers report today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine that they have developed a novel strategy for effectively treating the symptoms of the most deadly type of flu.
Working with influenza A virus, they show in mice that their novel treatment eliminates symptoms by reducing the response of active T white blood cells by a third.
Flu A is the type of influenza responsible for pandemics such as the 1919 outbreak of ’Spanish flu’, which glo
New research shows that men with clinically localized prostate cancer, treated to high dose levels with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), achieved long-term PSA relapse-free survival (PRFS) with minimal side effects. Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) presented findings from the 10-year retrospective study today at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“This i
People screened for lung cancer by a spiral CT scanner (commonly known as a CAT scanner) have accelerated and prolonged quit rates of smoking regardless of whether the screening showed any type of malignancy. This suggests that the screening is an ideal place to provide cessation messages even to those people with or at risk for developing lung cancer.
The new study, conducted by researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, will appear in the December 1
The following news tip is based on abstracts to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), October 19 – 23, 2003 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Like bacteria that resist common antibiotics, cancer cells can survive chemotherapy and radiation. Radiation oncologists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report they have found a gene “silencer” that blocks a cancer cell’s ability to repair itself after drugs and radiation
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers have learned that a common, cancer-linked gene thought to control blood vessel growth may not turn out to be useful as an effective target for cancer drug development. Their research, published in the October issue of Cancer Cell found that results of previous studies that pinned hope on the Id1 gene may not hold up in a mouse model thought to more accurately represent how humans get cancer.
The scientists began their study attempting to confir
In July 2001, scientists at Cedars-Sinai’s Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute published their findings that one “isoform” or variant of a specific gene was significantly upregulated in high-grade, malignant brain tumors called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). They theorized that this increased activity might be a critical step in the development, progression and spread of these highly aggressive tumors.
Now, in laboratory experiments designed to mimic the environment of a brain tumor
Currently, voice rehabilitation of larynx cancer patients is performed by inserting a one-way shunt valve between trachea and oesophagus that prevents food and liquid from entering the trachea. Pressing the tracheal opening with a finger forces exhaled air through the shunt valve to the oesophagus, where soft tissue structures serve as a substitute voice. However, the voice is in many cases of poor quality and the process creates a mental barrier during speaking, as patients have to literally point a
Johns Hopkins scientists investigating nitric oxide (NO) – the molecular messenger that contributes to body functions as wide-ranging as cell death, new blood vessel growth and erections – have figured out how it can block blood vessel inflammation and prevent clotting, a process that has long stumped biologists.
Reporting in the Oct. 17 issue of the journal Cell, cardiologist Charles J. Lowenstein, M.D., and his team observed that NO has the power to inhibit endothelial cells lining blood
Students Who Built Instrument Are Finalists in National Collegiate Inventors Competition
When the birth of a baby does not proceed smoothly, how much force should a doctor or midwife apply? If a complicated delivery takes too long, the child could suffocate, yet pulling too hard could injure the child.
To address this dilemma, Johns Hopkins University biomedical engineering students have invented an unobtrusive device that measures the amount of force a doctor or midwife use
Research news from The Cochrane Library
Surgeons and other experts have long regarded mechanical bowel preparation to be an essential preventative measure before colorectal surgery. Recent evidence in The Cochrane Library, however, reveals that mechanical bowel cleansing does not significantly decrease the risk of anastomotic leakage or other complications.
Researchers reviewed six studies performed over the last thirty years into the relationship between mechanical bowel cl
With its antioxidant properties, addition of oregano to frying oil makes crisps healthier.
Cottonseed oil containing oregano oxidizes less during frying, leaving crisps with fewer free radicals and greater stability through storage periods. The recent study is published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
Diets high in fat are known to produce harmful free radicals, molecules that damage cells within the body. Build-up of these free radicals can result in
Broccoli loses as much as 97% of some antioxidants when microwaved.
Certain methods of preparation and cooking can cause vegetables to lose their cancer-fighting compounds according to new evidence published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
A study investigating various cooking methods of broccoli concluded that microwaving is the clear loser: microwaved broccoli had lost 97%, 74% and 87% of three major antioxidant compounds*. By stark comparison, steam
Patients who have difficulty swallowing food may also be more likely to suffer from constipation, according to a preliminary study published this week in BMC Gastroenterology. The research suggests that patients with achalasia of the oesophagus, associated with a loss of nerve cells in the muscle surrounding the oesophagus, may also lose nerve cells from the muscle surrounding the rectum. This may cause an increased incidence of constipation in this population.
Patients who suffer from acha
Research published in this week’s issue of THE LANCET highlights the substantial increased survival for people with HIV-1 since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1997. However the study also shows a shift in risk profiles compared with earlier data-people over 45 years no longer appear to have reduced survival compared with younger people, and individuals who acquire HIV-1 infection from injecting drug use have mortality rates four times greater than infection acquir
A dramatic increase in life expectancy for people infected with HIV has been achieved since the introduction of Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART), say Medical Research Council (MRC) scientists today (Friday 17 October 2003).
New research conducted at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit in London and published in this week’s issue of The Lancet shows that in the first four years after the introduction of HAART, death rates from AIDS fell by over 80%.
More than 50,000 peo
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